After a long supper and discussion afterwards, my parents go home with my grandparents to spend the night. I will stay in the same guest room that I had stayed in before at Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jen’s house. The next morning, we all meet at Grandma’s for breakfast. Mom and Dad have to leave soon after that, since they need to get home to pick up my sister and brother from my other grandparent’s house. While it is clear that it will take some time for everything to completely smooth out, forgiveness was given on all sides—and promises have been made to come together as the family we are supposed to be.

I wave as the SUV takes off and Grandma hugs me. She smiles at me as she breaks the hug and says, “Either your Dad has changed a lot, or I sorely misjudged him. He really does love your mother.” I look at her and say, “It is likely a lot of both. He has changed since this incident…but, he has ALWAYS loved my Mom; at least as long as I can remember…”

Grandma, Aunt Jen, Shauna and I head to the mall soon after that—Uncle Jeff and Grandpa stay home ‘to relax’. The weather has warmed up considerably over the last couple of weeks and the pool at Shauna’s house is open and warmed up. Since, in all my shopping, I never got any sort of swimwear, Aunt Jen insists that we go find something of my own, rather than me borrow something from Shauna. Of course, with women, shopping for something as simple as a swimsuit is a near all-day thing, which is why I am sure that Uncle Jeff and Grandpa decided to stay home. I wind up with a couple of bikini’s that complement my skin tone and hair color—and a few other purchases that Aunt Jen and Grandma insist on getting me, including some new bras that fit me better with my growing breasts. We get home in the early afternoon after stopping to eat lunch at Shauna’s favorite restaurant.

Shauna makes sure that I am liberally coated with a high-SPF sun block and we go swimming. I am still amazed at the fact that I am ‘naturally’ big enough to fill in the top of the bikini—when they had measured me for the new bras, I found out that I am now a full B-cup and likely to still get larger. Shauna and I just enjoy a lazy afternoon, swimming and laying out by the pool reading girly books and magazines. I don’t even notice this seems normal to me—Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jen are very aware of the change in me just over the past couple of weeks…

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jen drop us off at St. Paul’s the next day and go to speak with M.S. while they are there. Shauna and I go to our rooms and settle back in for class the next day…

And so, the term quickly passes. My body continues to develop; I end up with envious curves and a beautiful face and body—real model material, actually. My mind wraps itself around being a young woman and I now have a full understanding of what that is; with the exception of certain female monthly ‘visits’ and corresponding organs, I feel every bit like a young woman. It is hard for me to even remember being Joey. When Mom and Dad had brought my sister and brother for their first visit, Amy pretended to be shocked at my outgoing appearance and nature, which is frowned upon for women in my hometown, but I could tell she was really jealous—something Mom and I later discussed in private. The truth of the matter is that my “Joy-Squad” has turned me into a confident young lady—one that M.S. is very proud of; and one that passes Mrs. Braun’s test with flying colors as she takes me to a very expensive and very formal dinner to test my poise and female character. I pass her class; and the girls in the squad all get A’s.

And so I find myself in M.S.’s office. She holds my hands in hers, facing me, and says, “You have turned into a beautiful young woman, Joy. Now it is time for you to decide what your next step is. I guess that you are ready to go back to being Joey?” For the first time in a long time, I don’t know what to say. I had known this time was fast approaching, but had avoided thinking about the decision. I look at her with haunted eyes and say, “I don’t know what to do, Mother Superior. I really don’t. I like being Joy. I like my friends and my life…but I feel like I am expected to going back to being Joey… And, is it all just because I am used to being Joy now? It is all so confusing. What should I do? You are so wise—tell me, M.S., please!”

M.S. smiles and says, “I can’t tell you what to do, Child. But you are wiser than you know just for being perceptive enough to ask these questions of yourself and to seek counsel. I promised you that this would all be OK in the end—that you would be normal. The tattoos that you have; the ink that Zoey used is a special type that she has invented and will someday market and become very rich off of—after it passes all the requisite tests. If it is subjected to a special light, depending on certain settings, it will turn anywhere from transparent to so vivid it actually glows in the dark for several hours. If you want your tattoos to disappear, she can turn them transparent. When you are ready, all you have to do is remove your jewelry from your piercings and I will heal the holes—it will be as if they were never there. The changes that your female hormones have caused to your body will be reversed as soon as you stop taking the hormones and I turn on your male ones. So, you see, Joey is still there…but you have to choose to bring him back. Come, Child, lay down over here.”

I lay down on her couch and she once again lays her hands on me and I feel a glowing warmth come over me. When she is done, she is again visibly weakened—it must take a lot out of her to do whatever it is she does; but she seems much more weakened than the last time. She smiles at me and says, “Go. Sleep on it tonight. Trust your subconscious to make the proper decision for you—the one your deepest self wants. Then come see me tomorrow and we will discuss your future. I have given your subconscious a little help… Now, go, Child. I must rest—I am not as young as I once was.”

I leave her office and am surprised that it is already dark. It was midmorning when I had gone to talk to her. I glance at the clock tower and gasp—it is nine o’clock at night. What had seemed like minutes had taken hours. What did she do to me? I take inventory of myself. I don’t feel any different…just…pleasantly tired and sleepy. I yawn…

I wake up the next morning—refreshed. I had had vivid dreams of becoming a girl…a real girl. I took that to mean that my subconscious was guiding me to choose to stay as Joy. I am actually relieved—I have made my decision; and it is the one that I knew I wanted to make but was afraid to admit to. I bounce into the bathroom, blissfully ready to start my day…

I sit to pee and let out a scream as I notice that I am bleeding…from a real vagina…

I pull a long strip of toilet paper from the roll and fold it into a thick pad. I slip on a robe after I place the ‘pad’ inside my panties and then quickly hurry to Shauna’s room. I quietly, but insistently, knock on her door. After a couple of minutes, a sleepy Shauna opens and asks, “Joy? Where is the fire?” I push my way in and something in my look must register with Shauna, she is instantly awake and asks, “What is wrong? Are you OK?” I nearly pass out as my adrenaline surge wears off, so I sit and say, “I think I am going crazy!” I hold up my bloody hands and say, “My sheets are covered in it, too.” Shauna is instantly concerned and asks, “Where are you bleeding from? Do I need to get you to a doctor? Did you cut yourself? Di...” I just open my robe and pull down my panties…

Shauna shrieks, then is quiet for several heartbeats and then, finally, squeaks out, “Bbu…bbbuu….bbbut how? Ummm…let’s get you a tampon…you have already soaked that tissue…quite some flow you have there…” She guides me to the bathroom and I tell her about my conversation with M.S. from the day before…and my dreams…and how I had woken up to…this…

Shauna says, “Lucky I had to pick up this ‘variety pack’ of tampons last time…it was all they had…it has ones for heavy flow…” She helps me insert it and clean up in her bathroom. Once the blood is gone, she says, “Now, tell me again. Exactly what did M.S. say before you left?” I think back at what she had said… Go. Sleep on it tonight. Trust your subconscious to make the proper decision for you—the one your deepest self wants. Then come see me tomorrow and we will discuss your future. I have given your subconscious a little help… I say, “She said something about coming back today and that we would discuss my future after I had made my decision…” Shauna asks, “Did she…do…anything to you?” I say, “She laid her hands on me, but I was not like this when I went to bed; I know that for a fact—but she said to trust my subconscious…”

An hour later, Shauna and I are knocking on M.S.’s door. I hear a weak, “Come in,” and push open the door. M.S. is sitting behind her desk, still pale, and does not seemed at all surprised to see me—Shauna, however, is a bit of another story. She, none-the-less, waves us both in. She looks at Shauna and says, “Your family has long known my history, so I don’t mind if you stay. It is up to Joy…and you…as to whether you stay.” It takes all of two seconds to decide she is staying and M.S. continues, “So, I sense that Joy is here to stay.” It is not a question and I nod. “I understand that you are likely a very confused young lady right now—a real young lady. First, let’s settle that I did not directly do that. I gave you the power to do it to yourself if that was the path you chose…”

I gasp and feel faint. Shauna squeezes my hand and asks after I sit there in shocked silence, “You swore to the church that you would not use your powers anymore. Why with Joy? What would make you change your mind?” She looks at Shauna and says, “I swore I would not follow the Church’s orders on who to help and who not to help anymore. That is when we struck our deal and I came here, but this is not fair to Joy…she does not know my history.”

M.S. asks Shauna to make a pot of hot tea and moves to her couch. We sit and Shauna pours three cups of tea and lays out some cookies. M.S. starts her tale. She explains that, as a young girl, the Church had discovered her powers. In those days, magic was still misunderstood and she could have easily been prosecuted as a witch. It turns out that she is several hundred years old, but she is weakening. She is quick to tell us at our concerned looks that she is not going anywhere anytime soon, but that she is definitely growing old… Anyway, the church had taken her in and…abused…what they had taken to calling her ‘powers’; making her help those that they thought deserved it—and denying those they thought did not. She says, “You see, had I been a man, they would have pronounced me a saint performing miracles; as a woman, they did not want to broadcast that I had a ‘power’ and kept me hidden, instead.” She goes on to explain that in recent history, a few decades ago, the church had prevented her from healing someone that she deemed the correct person and made her heal another instead—this had been the polar wrong decision and had had severe consequences to humanity. It turns out that if M.S., just ‘Gwen’ at the time, had saved the girl and let the guy die, it would have resulted in a huge medical advance and a great coup for the church.

To my surprise, this is where Shauna…and Uncle Jeff’s family comes in. The girl that had died was part of their family—as an influential family, they threatened to expose the church and ensured that Gwen became a Sister and was never forced to use her powers against her will again. Eventually, about ten years ago, ‘Sister Gwenevere’ became the Mother Superior of Saint Paul’s. She rarely uses her powers anymore to avert attention—she only uses them in very special circumstances and only if she sees the use making a difference to the world. That is why Shauna, who knew this, was so surprised when I told her that she had healed me.

M.S. asks Shauna to make more tea and sips on the fresh hot brew. She sighs and says, “And now, my dearest Joy, I have to explain myself to you…and how you come to be sitting here as a real girl…one that has a lot to yet learn about herself. Vicki Rogers, your former principal is a dear friend of mine. When she contacted me about you and the fact that your tests showed some interesting results, I asked her to follow up with some additional tests. That is why you took so many. To be fully honest, your scores show you to be a genius, yes, but not in the capacity you were allowed to believe. We did not mislead you—we simply did not lead you. You were allowed to believe what you wanted—that you are a math genius. As you have likely figured out by now, you will never have much problem with math, but that is not your true strength. You scored off the chart on things like empathy and other things important to me…your upbringing had just masked those things. I was intrigued and agreed to work out a deal to take you on. Your Uncle Jeff actually footed the bill for the scholarship.” There is a gasp from both Shauna and I. She continues, “No, he had no idea who you were at the time…only that I saw potential and asked for his assistance.”

We take a quick break for all of us to go to the ladies room. Shauna makes me change my tampon… Then we are back and M.S. continues. She explains how she has been searching for someone with a very special character…and characteristics. The test that Mrs. Rogers had given me was designed to ferret out potential candidates. She explained that she had a small army of people administering the test…and that I was one of the few that had passed it. That is why she had pulled me here…

She sighs and then slowly continues, “Joy, now I have to apologize to you. You were put through some things…unplanned by me, but allowed by me none-the-less. They were completely unfair. The way I let Shauna and the others mistreat you.” Shauna blanches and M.S. says, “There is no denying that you were mistreating poor Joey, Shauna. It is OK…you have learned your lesson, right?” Shauna blushes and just nods. M.S. continues, “You were forced brutally into being a girl…bullied and very nearly tortured. I knew this was happening and allowed it. For that I apologize. What you must know, though, is that, depending on the outcome, I had the power to erase that whole series of events. I could have put your body back to where it started and erased your memories of any of it happening. There would have been no negative consequences to you. That does not make what happened right, but it was within my power. Do you understand the danger of my ‘powers’?”

She pauses, then continues, “Anyway, right or wrong, I let it go on as a test. I needed to know how you would react—and you reacted beautifully. You did not rise to the lure of money by attempting to sue us. You did not take the bait and try and retaliate against any of the girls. Then, when you had an out, one your Uncle Jeff knowingly gave you, you honored your agreement. You also experienced how it feels to be forced into something against your will…you will need to remember that experience. All of that, along with what I was able to read directly from you with my powers let me know that you were a prime candidate for whom I was looking for. There was just one thing left…I needed a girl…a real girl…and that had to be your choice—free and clear. No one could influence that…”

I don’t even know when the pizza was ordered, but there is a slight break as Shauna answers the door and pays for the pizza with the money that M.S. gives her. We sit back down and between bites of pizza, M.S. continues, “When you were in here yesterday, Joy, I transferred certain latent energy to you. That energy was to lay dormant until you made a choice one way or the other—to go back to Joey, or to remain as Joy. If you had chosen Joey, the energy would have quietly dissipated and you would have come here today for me to reverse all of your changes. When you chose Joy—from your innermost core—that energy fully activated and transformed you into the girl you are now. That energy is still active in you…and are only the beginning of the powers you will have as you…and they…mature.”

I sit there in shock. I don’t know how to respond to that… Shauna looks at M.S. and asks, “So, what does that mean, M.S.? You gave Joy your powers?” M.S. nods and says, “Sort of. I injected her with my energy. Her powers will develop in her own way. They are different in each of us that has them. I received mine a long time ago and it took me quite some time to grow into them. I don’t think it will take Joy as long, but it will take some time to see exactly what they grow into.”

I am still silent as I process all of this. Finally, I speak up and ask, “You said we would discuss my future today. I think you knew how I would choose. I don’t understand how, but we can talk about that little tidbit later. What exactly did you mean by that?” M.S. smiles and says, “See? That is what I mean—very perceptive of you. The choice is obviously up to you. I can only split my energy a very few times…you are the first in many, many decades…and the last to receive it. I was having a hard time regenerating before this split. I can barely manage it now. That energy is what has kept me alive for so long. Anyway, I gave that energy to you freely and you are free to use it as you choose.”

She pauses for effect and a sip of more tea. She continues, “My proposal is that you finish your degree here, under my tutelage to learn about and grow your powers. Then, with your Uncle’s financial support, you will start up a ‘school’, or maybe better said a ‘center’ of your own. One outside the confines of the church where there are no religious pressures to believe in a certain way. One where young people will attend that need a particular type of guidance that you and your team will be able to give. They may be volunteers—or mandated. You could use your new powers to their maximal good. I would, of course, be available as a resource when you need it. I know this is a lot to think about, but you have some time…”

I just nod...and take a sip of tea.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the end of this series of chapters, but the beginning of a universe that I plan on building out. There will be more to hear of Joy and her new center, “The Joy of Life”, in the future.